Stokes’ delight at England showing

ENGLAND’S leading man, Ben Stokes, spoke for a nation of cricket fans as he summed up a great summer in five words: “It has been a blast.”

The sport has enjoyed its most memorable year since 2005, elbowing its way into the national conversation with a constant diet of thrills and spills, from an historic World Cup win at Lord’s to a first drawn Ashes series in 47 years.

Nobody has played a bigger part in delivering magical moments than Stokes. It was his onehanded ‘Superman’ catch in the World Cup curtainraiser that got the tournament going in style, his never-say-die innings which dragged the hosts back from the brink in the final, and his all-time classic knock at

Headingley that provided the highlight of a hardfought Test campaign against Australia.

Having spent the past few months in the eye of a perfect storm, Stokes was finally able to kick back and share a beer with his England team-mates and Australian rivals in The

Oval dressing-rooms as both sides came together to toast a 2-2 draw.

He added: “There have been some incredible highs and some moments I can hardly believe happened.

“But they did and I will always be able to recall what it was like being out there in the middle when we won the World Cup or won at Headingley.

“It probably hasn’t all sunk in yet but, at some point, I’ll be able to look back with satisfaction at what we managed to achieve as a one-day team and a Test team this year.

“Before England had played a game this summer we knew we had the World Cup and the Ashes ahead of us and now we’re stood here at the end as World Cup winners and with a drawn Ashes series.

“We had to dig ourselves out of a hole in the World Cup and had to scrap to get that trophy. It was the same in the Ashes.”

GEORGE Munsey and Kyle Coezter recorded the third-highest stand in international T20 history as Scotland beat Holland by 58 runs in Dublin. The pair hit the 200 mark before Coetzer was caught for 89. Munsey scored an unbeaten 127 as Scotland finished on 252-3.